Reporting live from the road this week with an important discovery: the fountain of youth is located in Kennewick, Washington.

Aging Gracefully ASAP

During a team retreat this week, I inadvertently forgot to bring my wallet to a prominent dining chain for dinner (hint: it rhymes with B.F. Wang’s). I attempted to order a coconut mojito sans ID, which escalated our table’s order to the attention of the manager on duty. He approached me with a discerning eye, measuring the gravity of the situation, and finally declared he could not serve me in good conscience because I don’t look A DAY OVER THIRTY. Friends, I was in shock. I am nearly 40 years old, I have three children, and I live in a perpetual state of exhaustion. Did I mention the three children? Do you mean to tell me, I look 29? Or younger?? Part of me was flattered. I mean extremely flattered. But another part thought, can he really not see the most significant decade of my life? Marriage, babies, houses, professional achievements, and everything in between? Surely he can see a woman who has lived? In his defense, the lighting was very dim. I know what you’re thinking, I should stick to being flattered. Aren’t women supposed to be glad when they look younger than their age? But I worked hard to earn those years. I guess I want them to show.

And I still want that damn mojito.

UPDATE: I have paid good money to look younger, though sadly those results don’t last very long. This was not intended as a statement against aging products and fillers, but more about wanting life experience to be more obvious and respected by others (yes, I realize that sounds contradictory). More on this to come!

Many days after thirty

Media Diet

When it comes to aging, I always go back to this footage of Frances McDormand and her thoughts on appreciating our age as a gift. I especially love the idea that our faces are the roadmap of our lives (though I’d prefer a smoother route).

I can’t stop thinking about this interview with actress Amber Tamblyn in which she draws a correlation between the election of Donald Trump and the widespread exposure of sexual harassment and assault. I’d say she hit the nail on the head right here:

I feel like the election of Donald Trump was a singular pointed message at women telling us that our lives don’t matter, and that our safety doesn’t matter, and that our physical health doesn’t matter, our reproductive rights don’t matter, that our gender just doesn’t matter, and that we are somehow owned by the country. I think within that one move, it was a giant gesture, and Donald Trump symbolizes, for most women – not all of them – he symbolizes and epitomizes everything that is deeply wrong with masculinity and with the objectification of women. And so within that single vote, it sort of was like a switch was flipped on and every woman just went, I’m done. It’s as simple as that: I’m done.

Men sometimes weigh in: As a father of a young daughter, I deplore. … But that sounds as if one cares about women only if one has made one, or as if one thinks of female colleagues as little girls.

Whitney Wolfe, CEO of Bumble, is taking interesting steps to turn the popular dating app into a networking tool for women. Check out this interview on How I Built This to learn more about her impressive background and personal triumph over sexual harassment in the workplace. (Also helpful if you are old and have no idea how dating apps work).

Speaking of Whitney’s, I’ve been fairly obsessed with Whitney Houston since reading this NY Times piece recently. I even signed up for Showtime to watch this documentary. My strongest memories of her are so tied to videos likethis, but they clearly have nothing to do with who she really was. RIP

A friend of mine recently asked what I do to stay in shape, and I recommended this app based on a New York Times article on the perfect seven-minute workout. I’ve been doing four cycles of this routine about 2-3 times per week since the summer and the results are impressive. My jeans feel baggier, and my kangaroo pouch is far less prominent (to put it in technical terms).

Melasma has been the bane of my existence for years (sorry Frances, I can’t embrace this one). I’ve tried many products to little effect, but this one actually works. It comes in powder form - just add a few shakes to any serum or moisturizer, et voilà! It’s a little pricey, but it lasts a long time.

Feminist Bookshelf by Jane Mount

Have a wonderful weekend!

Woman With A Plan is weekly newsletter by Sarah Richey, a Seattle-based working mom of three feminists in the making.